Emma Thompson is a class act!
EMMA THOMPSON REALLY is a force of nature! She can act, sing, dance, write, she’s smart, witty and best of all she’s hilarious. If you just look up her interviews on Youtube you’ll know what we mean. Emma’s latest film is The Children Act, directed by Richard Eyre and based on the novel by Ian Mcewan. The story centers around a High Court judge in the midst of a marital crisis. She’s also dealing with a very sensitive case to decide if she should order a life-saving blood transfusion for a teen with cancer despite his family’s refusal to accept medical treatment for religious reasons. The film is already getting a lot of Oscar buzz particularly for Emma’s performance. So we decided to look back at her incredible career thus far and let you know a whole bunch of interesting facts we found out!
Emma Thompson
was born in England in 1959. Her mother is the Scottish actress Phyllida Law, while her English father, Eric Thompson, was involved in theatre and the writer–narrator of the popular children’s television series The Magic Roundabout. Emma has always been interested in language and in 1977, began studying for an English degree at Newnham College, University of Cambridge. Along with actors like Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry, she was part of the Cambridge Footlights Theater Club. Stephen Fry recalls that “there was no doubt that Emma was going the distance. Our nickname for her was Emma Talented.”
Emma attributes
her love of language and literature (which has aided her career greatly) to her father, who shared her love of words. Sadly, in 1982 Emma’s father died as a result of circulatory problems at the age of 52. Emma commented that this “tore [the family] to pieces”, and “I can’t begin to tell you how much I regret his not being around”. She added, “At the same time, it’s possible that were he still alive I might never have had the space or courage to do what I’ve done … I have a definite feeling of inheriting space. And power.”
Emma first
came to prominence in 1987 in two BBC TV series, Tutti Frutti and Fortunes of War, winning the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for her work in both series. Then in 1992, Emma won an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress for the period drama Howards End. In 1993, she also got dual Academy Award nominations for her roles in The Remains of the Day as the housekeeper of a grand household and In the Name of the Father as a lawyer. Wow! Emma adapted the script and starring in Sense and Sensibility (1995), which earned her an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress. This has made Emma the only person ever to have received an Academy award for writing and acting!
In the early
1990s Emma frequently collaborated with the actor and director Kenneth Branagh. They ended up falling in love and getting married. Despite trying to keep their relationship private they were seen as the “golden couple” by the British media. However, in September 1995, Thompson and Branagh announced they had separated. It later emerged that Kenneth Branagh had fallen in love with actress Helena Bonham Carter. Weird when you think about the fact that Emma and Helena had worked together in Howards End in 1992 and then again in the Harry Potter franchise!
Emma was
living alone when the relationship with Branagh ended and allegedly entered into clinical depression. But then while filming Sense and Sensibility in 1995, she began a relationship with co-star Greg Wise. Commenting on how she was able to overcome her depression, she told BBC Radio Four, “Work saved me and Greg saved me. He picked up the pieces and put them together again.” In 1999, the couple had a daughter, Gaia, born when Thompson was 39. Emma and Greg married in 2003 the same year they informally adopted a Rwandan orphan and former child soldier named Tindyebwa Agaba.